OAN’s James Meyers
2:29 PM – Thursday, June 27, 2024
On the day before the presidential debate, GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake skipped out on her own primary debate.
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Instead Lake was in Tucson, Arizona, for a town hall to meet with supporters while also encouraging Independents and Democrats to join the open question and answer event.
Lake’s campaign billed the event as a town hall for all three political parties, as she looks ahead to a general election fight that will play a major factor in which party controls the Senate.
“We’re gonna make sure that we get out and vote, and we need to vote in July, even though I’m up 31 points over my competitor in July,” said Lake referring to Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.
However, Lamb said during the scheduled debate, “My presence here should tell the people of Arizona I want this job, that it’s important enough for me to come here and show you the respect that you deserve here in Arizona,” Lamb said. “When you’re interviewing for a job, if you don’t show up, I don’t know any company that’s going to hire you.”
Lake is mostly looking ahead to her likely matchup with Democrat Representative Ruben Gallego for the seat being vacated by Democrat-turned Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Lake has attacked and labelled him as a “swamp rat,” “deadbeat,” and on Wednesday, “Nancy Pelosi with a beard.”
Additionally, Lake has long held an aversion to debating Lamb. At a press conference in Phoenix on March 15th, Lake was asked if she’d be up to the challenge. “I am focusing on the general election,” she said.
“This is an expensive race, guys, there is going to be 200, 250 million poured into this race. We need to have somebody who has the ability to compete in that, and so I’m focusing squarely on the competition. And that is a guy named Ruben,” Lake added to a group of reporters assembled outside the Arizona state Capitol.
“He’s a total coward when it comes to election integrity,” said Lake of Lamb for refusing to reject the results of the 2020 election which saw Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump in Arizona and nationally.
“I don’t think Joe Biden got 81 million votes,” Lamb said during the forum. “But I don’t live in the world of feelings and thoughts. I live in the world of evidence, what you can prove in court beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Meanwhile, Lake drew criticism from other law enforcement last month during an online forum with Lamb when she called him a “total coward” on the issue of election integrity.
“There’s not many people who have the ability to fight. I took every hit fighting for security in our elections,” Lake said. “Sheriffs have the ability to fight, and the sheriff of Pinal County cowered. He’s a total coward when it comes to election integrity.”
Lake was alluding to Lamb’s February 2023 testimony to Congress that included a question whether there was “fraud that had a material impact on the 2020 election.”
Lamb responded to the question saying that he had seen “zero evidence” of that, and later explained that he could only speak for his specific county.
Lake’s comment prompted nine of Arizona’s 14 other sheriffs to condemn her words as “unfounded and disrespectful.”
Furthermore, on Wednesday, Lamb called the prosecution of Trump “lawfare.”
The primary voting will take place on July 30th.
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